I both agree and disagree. One also has to balance one's ability to pay for a product at the time. It's a lot more complicated then simply "all or nothing". For all artists, there's a certain amount of "getting by with what you can use", especially hobbiests (which I currently would fall into the category of)... but even professionals as well. Everyone has a budget. Currently, I have a SM57 and a Beta58 and I need a pair of condensers. I tend to research long and hard before I make any purchase. I'm not made of money, and I have many other expendatures. So, I could hold off getting mics for a while, but I may also risk losing opportunities, in the meantime, that may open up new doors. I have to balance that. The fact is, a cheap condenser is going to be worlds better than what I've got now, and for my current situation, the difference between a B1 and a high end AKG or Neumann isn't worth the price.duncan wrote:What you have to consider when buying mics is, are you in it for the long haul, or are you going to stop recording in a couple of years and give everything away? If you're in it for the long haul, buying cheap mics is money down the drain. Buying mics you're still going to be using ten years from now makes a lot more sense.
There's no cuttoff between a cheap product and an expensive product, it's all a continuum. And sometimes, you really DON'T get what you pay for, either: many times you're paying for prestige or name recognition, or some additional features you don't need.
I had a sound guy at one point, who flat out told me that pre-amps weren't worth buying if they were less than around $1000 a piece. His experience was in micing concert halls and large auditoriums... but he was unable to see past his own situation to mine (home studio). By his logic, almost all studios in this state aren't worth anything.
All purchases are money down the toilet, at some level, they all get old and dimish in value, the question is... is the money/pleasure/experience that you'll get with it, in the meantime, worth owning it? Everyone has to figure that one out for themselves, under their own situations.
I was so broke during college, that I had to get by with a couple altec-lancing computer speakers. Everyone else told me I was a complete dumbass for buying them... but you know what? As crappy as they were, they got me by when I needed SOMETHING, and I don't regret that purchase one bit.
All I'm saying is, while I understand your advice, you gotta be carefull about understanding the situation and budgetary concerns of the people you're advising.
